American Dad! (season 1)

American Dad! (season 1)
DVD box set for Volume 1
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	7
Release
Original network	Fox
Original release	February 6 – June 19, 2005

American Dad!'s first season aired from February 6 to June 19, 2005, and consisted of seven episodes. The season is included within the Volume One DVD box set, which was released on April 25, 2006. Nineteen episodes were produced during the first production cycle with production numbers 1AJNxx. However, to continue running episodes for the full season (23 episodes) that began earlier than normal (May versus September) four episodes from the second production cycle (2AJNxx episodes) were aired.

Reception

The season and series premiere, Pilot, aired following Super Bowl XXXIX. This premiere episode was broadcast as part of an animated television night on Fox, following an episode of The Simpsons. The episode was watched by 15.1 million viewers.^[1] In addition, the season was nominated for a Golden Reel Award for the episode "Homeland Insecurity".^[2]

Season one was met with mixed reviews. Certain critics commented positively on the season, such as DVD Fanatic, who graded the season a "B" rating.^[3] The website stated "the series may not be fully there yet, but it shows more promise than Futurama did in its first season", and listed "Homeland Insecurity", "Deacon Stan, Jesus Man", and "Stan of Arabia" as the "best episodes" of the season.^[3] IGN wrote a mixed review stating, "At its worst, American Dad! proves critics right – it is a lot like Family Guy. Stan is an idiot, Roger and Klaus are very similar to Stewie and Brian, and Francine acts as the voice of reason. Sure, there are differences, but there are plenty of moments when the characterizations are exactly the same. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but if you're not a fan of Family Guy you might not be a huge fan of this show, either."^[4] However, the website believed the series showed improvement towards the end of the season, saying "once you get into the season, the show becomes downright hilarious, and the humor really detaches from Family Guy. It feels like it took some time for the writers to get used to not having the cutaways of Family Guy, and finally came to grips with the new format.", citing "Deacon Stan, Jesus Man" and "Bullocks to Stan" as the "best episodes" of the season.^[4] The opening sequence is shortened down to merely a short blip of the theme music playing over a picture of the flag in the Smiths' yard in "Bullocks to Stan" and "Stan of Arabia".

Pilot

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code
Pilot	"Inside the CIA"	Seth MacFarlane	Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker & Matt Weitzman	April 8, 2005	1AJN00
Stan's video is ruined by constant interruption by his family, including appearances of Roger, whom Stan passes off as a kid who smoked a "marijuana cigarette" and Hayley's attempts at taking down the government by ranting about its dubious practices and decisions. In desperation, Stan shoots at the camera, which dies with the second bullet and goes to static.

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	1	"Pilot"	Ron Hughart	Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker & Matt Weitzman	February 6, 2005	1AJN01	15.10[5]
CIA agent Stan Smith helps his geeky son, Steve Smith, get the attention of a cheerleader by rigging the student council elections in his favor. Meanwhile, Roger (an extraterrestrial living with the Smiths) gets angry when Stan's wife, Francine, cuts off his junk food supply in fearing he might be getting fat and turns to helping Hayley (the community college-attending, socially liberal daughter of the family) finish her term papers in exchange for sweets.
2	2	"Threat Levels"	Brent Woods	David Zuckerman	May 1, 2005	1AJN02	9.47[6]
After a deadly virus scare, Francine wishes to do more with her life and becomes a realtor, making Stan feel insecure and unmanly. Meanwhile, Hayley uses one of the houses in her mother's portfolio to set up a homeless shelter, but fights over it with Steve who, initially, wanted to use the house to videotape teenage girls flashing their breasts and "going wild", but teams up with Stan to start a bum fight club.
3	3	"Stan Knows Best"	Pam Cooke	Mike Barker & Matt Weitzman	May 8, 2005	1AJN03	8.23[7]
Hayley moves out of the house – and into her boyfriend's van – after having enough of Stan's harsh rules. Meanwhile, Steve claims that Roger is his horribly disfigured burn-victim sister in order to gain sympathy from and ask out a girl to the school dance (and to get her bra on a dare).
4	4	"Francine's Flashback"	Caleb Meurer & Brent Woods	Rick Wiener & Kenny Schwartz	May 15, 2005	1AJN05	7.84[8]
After forgetting their anniversary, Stan arranges to have the last 20 hours of Francine's memory erased, but a bungling technician accidentally erases 20 years, making Francine think she's a wild and carefree teenager from 1985. Meanwhile, a popular girl will only date Steve if someone goes out with her ugly best friend, Jewel – who finds a mate in a reluctant Roger.
5	5	"Roger Codger"	Albert Calleros	Dan Vebber	June 5, 2005	1AJN04	6.09[9]
When Roger slips into a coma after being excoriated by Stan, the Smiths think he is dead and dispose of his body. While the family copes with their "loss", with Francine becoming an atheist, and Steve disowning Stan, Roger awakens in a landfill and journeys home with an old, racist woman who thinks Roger is one of her elderly friends.
6	6	"Homeland Insecurity"	Rodney Clouden	Neal Boushell & Sam O'Neal	June 12, 2005	1AJN06	6.85[10]
Stan learns his new neighbors are Iranian and immediately suspects that they are terrorists. Meanwhile, Roger tries to discover any hidden alien powers he may have while Steve is left at the mercy of the Scout Rangers, and Francine tries to reconnect with her neighbors.
7	7	"Deacon Stan, Jesus Man"	John Aoshima	Nahnatchka Khan	June 19, 2005	1AJN07	6.55[11]
Stan, wanting to beat his rival at something, volunteers to become a replacement deacon against him after the previous deacon dies. Meanwhile, Roger is going through his reproductive cycle and, in the process, accidentally impregnates Steve.

References

General

• American Dad: Volume 1 episode commentaries. 2006.

Specific

1. Archived February 26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
2. Awards for American Dad at the Internet Movie Database
3. Archived December 3, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
4. "American Dad! Volume 1 – IGN". Dvd.ign.com. April 3, 2006. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
5. "FOX Salutes 'American Dad' by Moving Up Its Timeslot Beginning Sunday, May 1, on Fox". The Futon Critic. February 9, 2005. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
6. Arthur, Kate (May 3, 2005). "Arts, Briefly; A Sweeping Weekend". The New York Times. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
7. Arthur, Kate (May 10, 2005). "Arts, Briefly; Is 'Elvis' Really Dead?". The New York Times. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
8. "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC. May 17, 2005. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
9. "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC. June 7, 2005. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
10. "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC. June 14, 2005. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
11. "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC. June 14, 2005. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2011.

External links

• Season 1 at TV.com